[ POV Ann ]

  I woke up at 3:30 am and kept staring at the digital arm clock, quickly realizing that I wouldn't be falling asleep for a while. It happens from time to time, and there's simply nothing you can do about it.

  I leave my bed and hop over to the windowsill where I notice that it's raining outside. The streetlights are far away from the house, but there's still enough light to see into the garden. Raindrops are forming on the windows and they are slowly making their way downwards, leaving a trail, reminding me of snails. The drops look much bigger than they used to, and the light they reflect is pretty to see.

  The glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling have long stopped glowing, but one of them still has a tiny bit of glow in it. The only other glow-in-the-dark things I see are my own wings. They give off a tiny bit of greenish light but isn't enough to illuminate more than the immediate area around me.

  The other window is still open and I can smell the freshly fallen rain, but thankfully the rain can't make it inside. The tree branches I see outside are moving a bit, gently swaying by a breeze.

  This world seems peaceful and the people are so nice. I can't believe that those monsters are real. Maybe the existence of monsters causes people to be nicer around here? Nah....people are people, they are nice or they aren't. But I'm happy to have met the nice kind.

  I still can't believe that I turned into a fairy. And those strange messages I saw....straight from my "Isekai" stories and anime. Is this world even real? It has to be...besides... I can't change things anyway. Maybe it's time to just accept fate and make the most of it?

  "Em....is there a goddess watching over me perhaps?" I said, but there was no reply. "Just checking?"Still no reply...okay, so be it.

  After staring outside for a few minutes, I feel wide awake and there's no way for me to fall asleep now. Maybe fairies don't need to sleep so much? Or perhaps we are nocturnal? So many questions! And so few answers...

  Suddenly I hear an all too familiar sound. "Eeeeeeeeee" the sound of a mosquito.

  "Oh nooooo.....I hate those things!"

  But when I see an oversized mosquito buzzing around the room, I'm suddenly really scared. It's a normal mosquito, but still a big bug!

  It keeps flying around the room and makes a few passes over my head, but I always manage to scare it off. There's no way I can sit rexed here now! I keep following it and occasionally lose track of it.

  It keeps hiding until I stop moving, and then starts attacking me again. Man, I haaaaaate those filthy parasites!

  When I finally see it approaching from dead ahead, I'm so frustrated that I point my right index finger at it, and pretend to shoot it.

  Now imagine my surprise when a blue lightning bolt left my finger and zapped the bug!

  A message popped up.===========First time mana use - Menu System is now avaible.===========

  "Waaaaa? That was actual mana? The mysterious energy power source needed for magic? Like in those stories? So I basically killed a freakin' bug with magic? Soooo coool!"

  I look outside the window and am thinking of ways to leave this room because I'm bored. I can't fly away through the open window and I'm too tiny to open the bedroom door. But I also can't crawl underneath it either. I'll ask Rachel to keep the door open next time.

  It only dawned on me at that moment. What "menu system" was the message referring to?Nooo.....could it be? The people in those "isekai" stories often have access to a magical system which lists all their skills and magical abilities. Could that be the case here as well? I mean, this world is basically a fantasy isekai world, so why not?

  I take a deep breath and whisper "menu!"

  And sure enough, letters appear out of nowhere again, but this time instantly.

  ===========================================Name: Ann FinleyAge: 17Gender: female

  Family: nature spirits Race: fairyCss: Cn Defender (level 1)

  Mana capacity: 200 / 200 (current / max)

  Racial skills:-purification-outfit-transtion-concealment

  Css skills:-attack mode (speed/agility)-shock-stinger-burrow

  Titles/achievements:-crosser of worlds===========================================

  "No way! This is freaking awesome! I actually crossed worlds! And there's definitely magic in this world too!"

  I take a few moments to read the details. "So I'm a defender now, huh? Guess I was drafted after all, dad would be pleased."

  I'm tempted to try out a skill and choose "purification." It didn't take long for me to realize that staring at a skill opens another message, expining what it is used for.

  But to my surprise the "purification" one isn't used to vanquish monsters....it's a cleaning skill! It's basically used by fairies to remove any dirt from their bodies and clothes. But it also purifies water and food, probably intended for the fairies living in the wild, if they even exist.

  When I said the skill's name out loud, my body lit up for a fraction of a second and I noticed that my teeth felt clean again. But what surprised me most, was that I suddenly felt really exhausted.......drained from all energy.

  [ Morning - POV Ann ]

  "Ann? Aaaaaahaaaaaan? Are you here?" I hear Rachel calling my name, so I sit up straight, but immediately bump my head.

  "Ouch!"

  Apparently my painful excmation was loud enough for her to hear me. "Ahhh! There you are! We have been looking all over for you!"

  "Rachel!" I shout. "What is this thing?!"

  I seem to be sitting in a strange pstic box with many square holes resembling windows.Her giant hand approaches the box and slowly opens it.

  "There we go, no need to fear." She lets me hop onto her hand and then takes a few steps back to let me take a look at my former prison.

  "You've got to be kidding me. How did that thing get in here?" I asked while pointing at a doll house that wasn't here before.

  "Good question, but Natalee, our housekeeper, is cleaning our house right now. Maybe she brought it?"

  "Didn't you tell her about me?"

  "Ann...of course we did!"

  "C'mon! This isn't fun! She must have put me inside that thing!"

  "She meant no harm, I'm sure of it. Even the government approved her presence, so let's go ask her, shall we?"

  Rachel takes me downstairs and puts me on the kitchen table.

  "Good morning, mom."

  "Oh, hi, Ann. Slept well?" She asked, and she didn't look suspicious, so she wasn't involved in this incident. She said that she loves to prank people, but I don't think that she would do this to me. At least not so soon.

  "AAAAHHH! What is that?! A monster?!" Someone wearing an apron just screamed while gesturing wildly.

  Rachel replies "No, Natalee, that's the fairy we were talking about."

  "It's.....alive?"

  Mom nods. "Of course she is. Didn't I expin the situation to you on the phone st night?"

  "Em....yes, but....I thought that you meant a fairy doll. There are no real fairies. Is that thing....really, really real? Or does it have batteries?" She seems wary of me.

  "You still don't understand, do you? Alright, I can't bme you, Natalee. We're not angry with you, so rex."

  "Pfew....thank you. I don't want to cause any problems, miss Amelia."

  "You haven't, now please calm downm will you? She is a real person and somehow got changed into that form. We believe it happened because she touched a bug stone. Maybe you recognize her former name, Diane Nicholson, from TV?"

  "No way.....that......is her?!!"

  I waved at the gawking housekeeper and she returned the wave. She then leaned forward, moving her head towards me, but way too close for comfort.

  "Do......you......understand......me?" She said ever so slowly.

  "Yes.......I........do. But.....I'm....not.....a.......monster. Speak......faster.......please."

  Rachel is grinning, but she doesn't intervene.

  "Oh...I'm sorry. So....you are Diane? As in...really?"

  "Yes, miss. Nice to meet you. But my name is now Ann, whether you believe it or not."

  She offered to shake hands, but quickly retracted her hand when she noticed me jumping away.

  "Sorry..eh...Ann, I didn't mean to scare you."

  Mom smiles, enjoying every bit of the situation. "Natalee? Rachel told me that we now have a doll house in Ann's room?"

  "Yes, em....I'm embarrassed to admit. I thought that a little girl was staying here, so I brought the dollhouse for her to py with. I didn't see any girl though, but when I noticed the dolls still in their packaging and the many doll clothes lying there, I took the house out of my car.

  My girls are too old to py with that now, so....after our phone call, I decided to bring it with me, just in case I could make someone happy. I'm so sorry, I will take it home."

  "There's no need for that. If you have no use for it anymore, let us have it. I'm sure that our newest family member might have fun with it in some way. Perhaps the furniture?"

  I nodded. "Might be useful. Thank you, Natalee. But why did I end up in that house?"

  Rachel replies while smiling mischievously. "Isn't that obvious? She thought that you were a toy. I warned you about that, didn't I?"

  "True...you did."

  Natalee is biting her lips, then says "she wasn't moving when I found her, or I would have been startled. I thought that she was just a toy and put it inside the dollhouse. And I swear, I wouldn't have cleaned the room if I had known that there was someone sleeping inside!"

  "That makes sense. But why did you sleep through all of that? Natalee is quite....a hard worker if you know what I mean." Mom said while looking at my dress, probably lost in thought.

  Natalee smiled, obviously not understanding mom's reply, hinting that she's probably capable of producing plenty of noise while cleaning. "I'll continue now. Or are there any more surprises waiting for me?"

  "No, Natalee. Everything else is the same."

  "Thank heavens. Excuse me. I'll have coffee ready soon." She smiled again and quickly left us.

  Mom said "she's a really nice person, but not used to this kind of stuff. Anyway, now that she's gone, can you please answer the question? How could you possibly sleep through her cleaning?"

  I answer "I think because I used magic for the first time. I saw more messages st night and apparently I'm now a Cn Defender, whatever that may mean."

  "It probably means that things are going to get interesting really soon. So how exactly does that expin that you didn't wake up?"

  "Yeah....I tested a purification skill on myself. It's like an instant shower and it washes my clothes as well. But....I guess I ran out of juice and fell asleep."

  "Ahhh.....I see. Be careful then. Maybe you still need some time before you can use those skills, as you called them?"

  "I will be more careful, I promise. I think I'll start practising my flight, so if you don't mind, I'll be doing that outside in the backyard. But first breakfast!"

  "Hahahaha, couldn't agree more. Do fairies eat meat?"

  "Eh......no idea?"

  "Let's try out. You can't live on coffee and cake forever." Rachel chuckled and gave me a tiny bit of mom's bacon. Mom's bacon and eggs smell absolutely delicious, so I guess I already know the answer.

  I accept the bacon and start chewing on it. "Bweh! What is this? Pstic?!"

  "Maybe you're not a meat eating fairy after all. Now try this." Rachel gave me something from the fridge. "Just chicken, should be safe."

  Mom looks at her. "Should...be safe?"

  Rachel grimaces. "No! I mean, safe for HER to eat. Not that it's too old or anything. Ah....you're teasing me again! Cut that out, Amelia!"

  "Hahaha..." Mom is in teasing mode, and that doesn't look promising for me.

  I taste the chicken and again it tastes very weird, like burned rubber.

  "I guess that's a 'no' either. Here, try this apple." Rachel cut an apple and gave me a tiny piece.

  "Oh my god....what kind of apple is that? It's as sweet as honey, delicious! And the fragrance is like vender!"

  "Okay.....definitely not a meat fairy. It's just an ordinary apple, Ann," mom said. "Rachel....what else do we have? Bananas?"

  "Yes, but nothing else. I'll buy more ter for her to enjoy. So what will it be, Ann? More cake or apples?"

  "Em.... now? Apple! And coffee!"

  "Hahaha, at least you still like coffee, so you're still human where it counts. Or maybe you're a coffee fairy?"

  "Moooom!"

  "Here, have a cookie." Mom said and shoved a gigantic cookie towards me. I think I'm going to like eating breakfast here!

  After breakfast, Rachel took me outside into the back garden and put me onto the grass.

  "Be careful, Ann. Nobody will be mowing the wn today, but nobody expects you to walk here either. Make sure to shout when you hear someone."

  "Okay! See you ter?"

  "Sure, I've got some shopping to do. Coffee and cookies when I return?"

  "Yup!"

  "Alright and if you do succeed, don't fly too far from home. Sheesh, I never thought I'd say such a thing."

  "I know...see you ter!"

  "Anything special you'd like for dessert or something?"

  "Not sure why, but I'm craving strawberries!" I'm rubbing my belly.

  "Alright...I'll try to find some."

  "Thanks, Rachel!"

  And that's when I started my flight practice.